Colts Flatten Oceanside in Grand Fashion

The Colts could sum up their performance yesterday in one word:

Grand.

Hosting Oceanside yesterday at Calhoun High School, the Colts hit not one, but two grand slams en route to a 13-1 blowout.

The first came in the second inning off the bat of Jake Thomas, while the second was hit by Frank Trimarco. Thomas also added a solo home run in the fourth inning and totaled six RBIs on the day.

Not be outshined on the day was pitcher Mark Simon, who allowed just one run over six innings of work while only allowing five hits and striking out nine batters.

"First thing is the pitching," coach Mike Marino said. "We got a really good start out of Mark Simon. He had a really good fastball today, kept his pitches low and he was really tough to hit. Obviously our bats came alive today and got the job done too which is always nice."

The Colts (12-4) offense went to work early, as they began the game with back-to-back doubles by Dan Sullivan and Ryan Kass to plate their first run. An RBI single from Thomas gave Calhoun a 2-0 lead.

After an RBI fielder's choice by Trimarco gave the Colts a 3-0 lead in the second inning, Thomas broke the game wide open by slamming a ball over the right field fence for a grand slam. With the big hit, Calhoun held a commanding 7-0 lead.

"Yesterday I was hitting in the batting cage for about two hours," Thomas said. "So that fixed up my swing a little bit. It helped me get more relaxed in my stance so I can get an easier swing, and I guess it paid off today."

It was more than enough run support for Simon, who dominated Oceanside (5-10-1) hitters all game long. The only run he allowed came off of a bases loaded popup that was mishandled by Kass at shortstop.

"I felt good out there on the mound," Simon said. "I had very good control of my pitches. We hit really well today so that took a lot of the pressure of me. We put up a lot of runs and got the win."

In the bottom of the fourth, Thomas would hit another home run, this time of the solo variety. However, the Colts would load the bases again, and it was Trimarco's turn to drive in four with one swing.

"I saw a good pitch that I could drive," Trimarco said. "I took it over the center field wall, and it was my first home run of the season. It felt good."

The Colts added one more run in the sixth inning off of an RBI single by Jon Eyerman.

The win gave the Colts their fifth straight victory, and the team hopes that they can carry the late-season momentum into the postseason.

"If we keep playing this way and score a lot of runs and continue to pitch well," Trimarco said, "hopefully we can get into the playoffs and go as far as we can."

The Colts end their season with back-to-back games against Carey, with the first one today at 4:30 p.m. at Carey High School.